Death
Major Arcana · XIII
- endings
- transformation
- transition
- clearing away
- resisting change
- stagnation
- fear of endings
- lingering
In the picture
A skeleton in black armour rides a white horse and carries a black banner with a white rose. A king lies fallen beneath the horse while a bishop, a woman and a child react, and a sun rises between two towers.
Upright meaning
Despite its name, the Death card rarely means physical death. It stands for an ending that makes room for something new: a chapter closing, a habit dropped, a situation running its course. Change of this kind can be uncomfortable, but it clears the way.
Reversed meaning
Reversed, the ending is being put off. You might be holding on to something that is already over, or fearing change so much that everything stands still. The transition will come; meeting it is usually easier than resisting it.
About the Major Arcana
The 22 Major Arcana are the trump cards of the deck, numbered 0 to 21 from The Fool to The World. Read in order they tell the story of a journey, and in a reading they tend to point to big themes and turning points rather than day-to-day events.
